Food to Run For: Running Deferred

Hello! So yesterday morning I had a doctor appointment and he told me in a nutshell that if it hurts to run 5 miles, then I shouldn't try to run 26. He thinks the smart decision is to pull out of the race and defer my number until next year. I'm wicked depressed about it and I feel like a huge failure but I know its the right choice. Even if the pain goes away in two weeks, I won't be properly trained and running a marathon without running for a month just doesn't seem smart. I mean I wouldn't try to pass a test only doing half the studying so why would I try to run a marathon without doing all the training? So although I feel sad, I do know its for the best and will give me even more motivation for the next time I start training... speaking of training, here is my 2010 plan....

Well first off, I'm not going to run until December. I am going to take over a month off to heal from this injury completely. Then I will slowly start training and avoid treadmill running as much as possible which means lots and lots of coooold runs. I want to run these races in 2010: The Hyannis Half Marathon on February 28th and the Providence Marathon on May 2nd. 16 weeks out for training would be the week of December 11th, which will be the week to SLOWLY begin marathon training. After the Providence marathon, I will take some running time off and then begin training for the NY Marathon the week of July 4th. So that's my plan. My goal is to run 3-4 days a week with 1-2 days built in for cross training and lifting. I want to continue taking spin and boot camp classes and I won't to stop beating myself up for not running a certain amount of mileage per week. I am going to learn to love running outside by myself and try very hard to avoid the treadmill. So there it is... in writing. That's my goal and I'm sticking to it.

Now on to food. So I've written about Robin Miller before, but I love her style of cooking and I use it every week. I think the key to successful meals and cheaper grocery bills is to prep ahead. Over the last month, I've been planning out my menus for the week before hitting the store. Then on Sundays or on this week Monday, I do a lot of the leg work for the week ahead. On Monday, I made Chicken Pot Pie, but I didn't mention that I cooked 2 pounds of chicken and cut the pieces into bit size pieces for the rest of the week. After cooking the chicken and slicing it, I stored it in tupperware in the fridge for Tuesday and Wednesdays dinner. I also cut up my bok choy for Tuesday's dinner. So when I got home last night, I was able to get dinner on the table in less than 15 minutes!

Last night, I made Asian Chicken with Spicy Bok Choy. First thing I did was heat some Peanut Oil in a large skillet, then I added the bok choy and chopped shallots. This vegetable is DELICIOUS. I love greens! Next I added the chicken pieces and got to work on a sauce. I combined chicken broth, tamari, srichi, rice wine vinegar and red pepper flakes together and let it blend together for a nice brothy spicy, tangy sauce. On the side, I made chive cous cous, by letting 2 cups of chicken broth come up to a boil and turning off the heat and adding the cous cous and letting it steam together for 5 minutes.